Faster Payments enablement guide NatWest Collection Account (HOCA)
Faster Payments Mandatory reach to be completed by the end of 2011 Background From 1 January 2012, the UK s Payment Services Regulations require all qualifying payments between payment service providers to arrive the next working day. To achieve compliance all sort codes which can receive Bacs credits must be able to receive Faster Payments by the end of 2011. The CHAPS Company, which operates the Faster Payments service, has mandated this with the backing of the FSA and Bank of England. Progress will be monitored across the industry. NatWest is also reviewing its Faster Payment limits to ensure that non-compliant payments can be sent as Faster Payments. What you need to do As a HOCA customer you have been identified as having a sort code (or sort codes) set up to receive Bacs credits which is on the Industry list of sort codes which must become Faster Payments enabled before the end of December 2011. The Faster Payments service was launched in May 2008 and allows both consumers and businesses the ability to make UK domestic credit payments in near real-time via Internet and Telephone banking services at any time, any day of the year. Decisions This Faster Payments enablement guide contains all the information you need to help you decide when to receive your Datalink* files. When you have considered the changes required to your internal systems and processes, you will need to complete and return the enclosed Additional services/amendment Form. Next steps If you have any further questions not covered by this guide, please email: FPSwitchon@natwest.com *Datalink will in the future be known as Bankline Direct due to the migration of Datalink services onto Bankline Direct channels, but for the purpose of this document we will refer to it under the generic name Datalink. 2
Receiving Faster Payments Existing payments into your HOCA Payments that you currently receive into your HOCA sort code (i.e. Bacs Credits* and/or Bank Giro Credits) will continue without disruption. You will however, notice a reduction in the number of Bacs Credits as these become Faster Payment credits. Statement narrative (please refer to Page 4). At the end of each business day you will see a new settlement entry on your account. Funds availability (please refer to Page 4). Funds received as Faster Payments arrive on an intra-day basis and will be available for use as soon as they are applied to your Business Current Account. The value of these payments will be added to the accumulating balance of your HOCA which will be viewable via Bankline, our Internet banking service. You will also see the number of payments received. Data files As payments may be received intra-day and will contain more sender information, we will provide you with the opportunity to update both the data format and the time you receive your data. You will if you choose still be to receive data in the same format as now with minimal change. Please refer to the Faster Payments Collection Account Options pages. The Faster Payment in your files will have new transaction codes (please refer to Page 6). *This will mean Bacs Credit payments sent using Bacstel IP or Bacs Bureau. 3
Statement Changes A new bulk credit will be posted to your settlement account from the date your sort code is enabled. The narrative of this bulk entry will be shown as: FP SETLMT xxxxxx (your sort code). Funds availability Bankline will show the accumulating number and value of Faster Payments into your HOCA as shown below: At the daily working day account cut off at 18.30 cut, the balance visible on the Bankline screen will be frozen at the total amount received until the account entry is posted. Payments after 18.30 will start to accumulate separately as part of next day s balance but will only be visible after the prior day s entry is posted to your account. 4
Faster Payments options As a result of enabling your sort code for Faster Payments, there will be some changes to your data files and settlement transactions for the Datalink CAS service. The changes will depend on which option you select to receive the Faster Payments information. The options and changes are summarised below and each option is expanded in the following pages. Option 1: A merged CAS file You may find this easier as it does not require you to receive an additional file. Faster Payments transactions would be stored at NatWest as they are received, then merged into your existing CAS file so that you have one file to process in the same way that you do today. You will receive the benefit of the funds in near real-time, and if you process your CAS file overnight, your customer accounts/records will be updated earlier. Option 2: Separate Faster Payments file(s) Faster Payments received at NatWest will be batched periodically during the day and made available to you in Faster Payments files throughout the day. You have the option to receive between one and five files at various times. You can receive the information in the same file layout as your CAS file or a new ISO8583 format is also available. This option is likely to present the most changes to your processes. The benefit is having the ability to receive files intra-day in order to update your customer accounts/records in the earliest possible timescales. We have provided some more information in Appendix B and a full file format is included in your pack. 5
Option 1 Merged CAS file Impact With this option, Faster Payments will be included within your existing CAS file. Impacts and changes required are detailed in the previous slide but details specific to the merged CAS file are detailed below: Your sort code will be enabled on the Industry Sort Code Directory (ISCD) The file you receive will now also contain the following types of Faster Payment with new transaction codes: Code 68 Faster Payment Incoming Credits Code 69 Faster Payment Return Credits Code 40 Faster Payments Reversal Debits (see Appendix A ) The file availability time will now be 19:30 and this may be later than you currently receive your CAS file If you receive a merged CAS file, you can decide at any time to migrate to a separate Faster Payments file. Parallel running (receiving both files concurrently) will be available on request for one month to assist your testing and transition. Changes Required A new bulk credit will be posted to your settlement account each day for Faster Payments. Since the Faster Payments value date is the same day, your CAS file will reconcile against settlement transactions over two business days: Faster Payments settlement same day as the file is made available Bacs Credits settlement transaction business day after the file is made available Credit Clearing settlement transaction business day after the file is made available. File Frequency: Weekly, Fortnightly or Monthly Reports As Faster Payments may be received at anytime during the day, you will be required to take a daily file for Faster Payments. If you currently take your file less frequently than once a day, you can continue to do so for Bacs and Credit Clearing. Although we will generate a Faster Payments file every day, you will still have the option of collecting several files at once at your regular scheduled frequency instead of picking them up each day. You should bear in mind your customer proposition once real-time fund transfers become established. File name A new file name will be created for the merged CAS file and your internal systems will need to be updated to recognise this. File availability time If you currently download your CAS file before 19:30, you will need to change your scheduling to retrieve the file after 19:30. If you process files on an overnight batch basis, you should check the timing of this process. 6 Reversals Reversal transactions may be received. These will be included in your CAS file with a transaction code of 40.
Option 2 Separate Faster Payments file(s) File collection: Daily Reports As Faster Payments may be received any time during the day, we will make files available more frequently than once a day, to ensure customers who need regular information have this when required. To ensure you can reconcile all payments received into your Collection Account sort code, the bulk credit cut-off time will be 18.30 daily and the bulk credit will be posted overnight to your settlement account. To assist your reconciliation, you will be required to take a mandatory file after 18.30 each day. You will have the option of selecting up to five files per day at the following times: File cut off time Latest time file available Optional or Mandatory file Types of payments received 07.00 08.00 Optional Standing Orders >90% of total Forward Dated payments and SIPs 12.00 13.00 Optional Standing Orders, Forward Dated payments and SIPs 15.30 16.30 Optional Standing Orders, Forward Dated payments and SIPs 18.30 19.30 Mandatory All Faster Payments received intra day or the balance if taking other files throughout the day 22.00 23.00 Optional SIPs received since 18.30 Impact A separate file may assist your reconciliation as all transactions in the file will be Faster Payments, and therefore kept separate from other payment types in your existing CAS file. The value date for the Faster Payments file will be the same date as the file is received. Your existing CAS file is provided on Day 2 of the 3-day clearing cycle. By taking separate Faster Payments files, you can use these to update your customer accounts/records on the same day they are received. Changes Required File name New file names will be created for Faster Payments files incorporating the file cut-off time. Your internal systems will need to be updated to recognise the new file names. File collection time Files will now need to be collected at the selected times, including the mandatory file after 18:30. Your existing CAS file will be available at the usual time. Reversals Reversal transactions may be received. These will be included in your file. 7
HOCA & Datalink Charges Collection Account charges There will be no change to how we charge you for Faster Payments transactions into your Collection Account. Transaction volumes will be captured in the same way as Bacs receipts and charged in line with agreed arrangements. Datalink/CAS file charges If you decide to enable your sorting code and have Faster Payments included in your existing daily CAS file, there will be no change to existing charging arrangements. If you opt for separate Faster Payments files (between one and five per day) then there will be an additional monthly fee for the Faster Payments file(s). This charge will be based on the number of files per day, plus a per item tariff. Charges are as follows: One file per day: 200 per month. Additional daily files: 100 per month. Maximum fee element: 500 per month. If you currently receive a periodic CAS file (e.g. weekly or monthly) and you wish to receive Faster Payments included in this file, the file frequency will require to be changed to daily. This will result in an increase to the monthly fee that you pay for the service, and this will be agreed with you on migrating to the daily service. There will be no change to the transactional charges for items reported in Datalink files. 8
Appendix A: Faster Payment Reversals Payment Reversals These transactions will only happen when there is a delay in the processing links between the receiving bank and the Central Infrastructure. If a receiving bank has not responded to the incoming payment within the agreed SLA, the Central Infrastructure will reverse the payment. Please see the diagram below for more information. To help you identify and reconcile these new types of transactions, we have introduced new transaction codes. Reversal transactions will be debits to your Collection Account sorting code. Currently Collection Account sorting codes only receive credit transactions. When you are enabled for Faster Payments you will also need to change your procedures to handle the new debit transactions in your Datalink file. You may wish to check your settlement account via Bankline or your statement to ensure that you identify any reversals. You will need to apply these to your own customer s accounts. The incidence of reversals should be very rare and to reduce them further, NatWest will match reversal debits against the corresponding credit wherever possible without delaying your Datalink file. You should, however, make allowance for the possibility of reversal debits being reported in your file. Sending Bank 1. Payment out 2. Payment in Receiving Bank Central Infrastructure 3. Timeout no response 5. Rejection 4. Payment reversal 9
Appendix B: Faster Payments ISO8583 Format ISO8583 If you opt to receive a separate Faster Payments file, you can receive this in the same format as your existing CAS file, or, you can receive the information in ISO8583 format. This is the industry format used by the member banks to pass payment data to and from the Central Infrastructure. It provides a greater level of detail than your normal CAS file format. If you initially opt for CAS format, you can migrate to ISO8583 format at any time, and parallel running will be available. The list below is a sample of some of the additional information available in the ISO8583 format compared to CAS. A full file specification document is included in the pack. Additional Information provided in ISO8583 (field length) Transaction Reference (18) Beneficiary Customer Account (34) Originating Credit Institution (11) Originating Customer Account (34) Charging Information (204) E2E Ref (31) File I.D. (32) Beneficiary Credit Institution (11) Originating Customer Account Name (40) Originating Customer Account Address (140) Beneficiary Customer Account Name (40) Beneficiary Customer Account Address (140) Remittance Information (140) Payment Return Code (8) Returned Payment - Faster Payments I.D. (42) National Westminster Bank Plc. Registered in England No 929027. Registered Office: 135 Bishopsgate, London EC2M 3UR. 90079501